Being a dad to a girl is a lot of hard work in today’s day and age. Many fathers want to protect their daughters from the challenges women still face in life. But, one thing that is increasingly difficult for fathers is taking their young daughters to the bathroom when they are out in public.
For years, many men’s bathrooms did not having changing tables and they could only be found in the women’s bathroom.
Nowadays, as society evolves, many establishments have added changing tables to the men’s bathroom, so fathers can change their daughters in a comfortable space.
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However, there are still some reasons why simply adding a changing table to the men’s bathroom still does not work.
One father recently opened up about his decision to take his daughters into the women’s bathroom even though he, himself, does not identify as female.
Muhammed Nitoto, the father behind the dad blog The Chronicles of Daddy, shared a photo on Instagram with a detailed explanation as to why he chooses the women’s bathroom over the men’s.
“As a dad being out with daughters I never thought the bathroom would become as big as a[n] issue as it is. Usually, we would go places and they have FAMILY bathroom[s] which are meant for people with children but what I found was most places don’t have them and dads are left to decide between taking their daughters to the men’s bathroom or the women’s,” the father wrote.
Nitoto said that the way he even views the men’s room has changed since having daughters.
“Now when first hit with this choice I did what most men would do which is, I went to the men’s bathroom. Now I’ve been to a men’s bathroom millions of times but walking in with your daughter makes you look at it completely different,” he wrote.
He was open and honest in saying that the men’s bathroom is “disgusting.”
“Men’s bathrooms are DISGUSTING. They smell like pee and nothing is set up for a woman or a person with a child. The changing table was right next to the urinal which means my child literally would be next to where men pee [while] she’s being [changed],” he added.
Nitoto said he had an experience that changed his mind and decided to never go into men’s bathrooms with his daughters again.
“Not to mention that their are men going in and out while you’re in their [ sic ]. After doing that 1 time I decided I’d never take my daughter[s] to the men’s bathroom again,” he said.
He says that he tries to be as respectful as possible by announcing himself to women in the bathroom before he enters.
“I use the women’s bathroom when I’m out with them. They are too young to go on their own so I have to go in with them. I try to be as respectful to women as I can while doing so which consists of knocking on the door before entering and announcing myself. Making sure if someone is inside that they know I am a Dad coming in with his daughter and making sure they are comfortable with that,” he wrote.
He also stated that women’s bathrooms are cleaner and that the changing table is usually in a private stall, rather than out in the open.
“Women’s bathrooms are so much cleaner and set-up [perfectly] just in case they have children. The changing station is usually [inside] a stall instead of just in the open and it’s always clean. As a girl dad I can’t help but want to protect my daughter’s [ sic ] from all things that aren’t for them and the men’s bathroom is 100% one of those things,” he concluded.
People online were in full support of this dad, saying he is doing the right thing in looking out for his daughters.
“That makes me feel so much pride in you and so much gratitude on behalf of your daughters. I would feel more than comfortable with a man in the bathroom if he behaved the exact way you said you do when entering and occupying a female space,” one person commented on Instagram.
Some people even said they’ve seen dads do exactly what Nitoto does with their daughters, and think it’s great.
“I had a father announce himself while I was using the restroom once. I thought it was great. I was happy to see a father taking his daughter to use the women’s restroom. I appreciated him announcing so I wasn’t surprised coming out, but I was not bothered by it at all. It made me proud and I knew that was a lucky little girl to have a dad that felt comfortable enough to do that and care to do that for her,” another user said.
Others said this dad’s post is a sign that we need more public family washrooms.
“Thank you for sharing. As a mother with daughters, I would prefer if establishments would be diligent about having family washrooms,” someone else wrote.
Many people said it’s time for businesses to recognize that dads are active parents, too, and need access to change tables.
“Globally we still think dads are not active parents. If we did not, we would make it a universal practice to ensure all spaces (that cater to families) have family restrooms,” another person said.
This isn’t the first time a dad has spoken out about the lack of change tables in men’s washrooms.
In 2018, Donte M. Palmer, a dad with three boys, shared this image of himself changing his son’s diaper by using his legs as a changing table.
His viral post highlighted the need for more changing tables in men’s washrooms.
Thankfully, Palmer’s post generated so much attention that one company decided to step in to help.
After sparking a discussion on social media about the lack of changing tables in men’s washrooms, Pampers committed to installing 5,000 changing stations for dads in the U.S. and Canada by 2021.
Both Nitoto and Palmer’s posts have been praised by people for shedding light on this important issue.
Until there are more family washrooms or adequate changing spaces in men’s washrooms, many users said they are fine with dads coming into the women’s washroom with their daughters.
What do you think, ladies? Would you be okay with a dad coming into the women’s room with his daughters? Or, do men’s bathrooms need to step up their changing stations?
